Musicians in the Plaza Mayor del Cusco.

Cusco, Peru

Felix Wong's avatar
by |

Cusco is an inland city in Peru that was founded around 1100, has a population of 430,000 people, is surrounded by mountains, and sits at over 11,000 feet. For us, it was a staging point for trips to the Sacred Valley (for via ferrata and zip lining) and Machu Picchua. My friend Mel and I twice did pre-breakfast runs of about three miles, and along with Matthew and Teresa, did a lot of walking to and from the places shown in the photos below.

In addition, we visited a couple museums exhibiting arts and artifacts, and took note of the number of people wearing apparel sporting a large Batman symbol. (We saw at least three. The caped, masked superhero seems to be popular everywhere in the world.) Mel, Teresa and I also tried eating alpaca and guinea pig on our last evening in Cusco.

Alpaca tasted slightly gamy and was very lean, whereas guinea pig seemed to have a lot of fat under its skin. Neither tasted like chicken. We all much preferred eating alpaca meat, although guinea pig wasn’t offensive to my taste buds either.

Musicians in the Plaza Mayor del Cusco.
Musicians in the Plaza Mayor del Cusco.
Walking down an alley featuring Inca stonework.
Walking down an alley featuring Inca stonework.
Teresa and Matthew by the Twelve Angle Stone in Cusco.
Teresa and Matthew by the Twelve Angle Stone in Cusco.
Teresa doing a yoga pose on a table in the terrace of the Hotel Costa del Sol Ramada.
Teresa doing a yoga pose on a table in the terrace of the Hotel Costa del Sol Ramada.
A little dog peeking out the window in Cusco.
A little dog peeking out the window in Cusco.
Tile rooftops in Cusco.
Tile rooftops in Cusco.
Walking towards the Templo de la Luna (Temple of the Moon) in Cusco.
Walking towards the Templo de la Luna (Temple of the Moon) in Cusco.
A cave near the Temple of the Moon.
A cave near the Temple of the Moon.
A grassy path connecting the Temple of the Moon and Qenqo.
A grassy path connecting the Temple of the Moon and Qenqo.
Teresa and Matthew doing an acroyoga pose.
Teresa and Matthew doing an acroyoga pose.
Teresa and Matthew doing an acroyoga pose.
Teresa and Matthew doing an acroyoga pose.
The Qenqo forest.
The Qenqo forest.
Mel standing on one leg in the Qenqo forest.
Mel standing on one leg in the Qenqo forest.
Two llamas near the Cristo Blanco (White Christ) statue in Cusco, Peru.
Two llamas near the Cristo Blanco (White Christ) statue in Cusco, Peru.
Cristo Blanco (White Christ) statue in Cusco, Peru.
Cristo Blanco (White Christ) statue in Cusco, Peru.
Mel and Teresa tasting alpaca and guinea pig.
Mel and Teresa tasting alpaca and guinea pig.
There's a hostel in Cusco that bears my name.
There's a hostel in Cusco that bears my name.